Major Anthony Gordon, and the Development of Bayonet Fencing
Sept 19, 2020 14:33:26 GMT -7
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Post by nobody on Sept 19, 2020 14:33:26 GMT -7
Bayonet fencing is something I am interested in learning, still researching various sources to see what is available though. This article seems to be within the timeline restrictions for this forum, hopefully it being British instead of American wont pose any issue. If anyone knows of any similar sources please share, there dosnt appear to be much out there.
Major Anthony Gordon, and the Development of Bayonet Fencing in the British Isles: 1740-1820
outofthiscentury.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/major-anthony-gordon-and-the-development-of-bayonet-fencing-in-the-british-isles-1740-1820/
"As far as is currently known, prior to the 1780s, the British military—like that of most of Europe—did not officially instruct its rank and file troops in a systematic method of self-defense for close-quarters combat with the bayonet (although it is possible that elite units received more advanced instruction, no known extant sources indicate what that may have consisted of). Instead, the bayonet position prescribed in the established exercise did not really guard the soldier at all, but was a direct descendant of the old “firelock” stance which had replaced that of the pike. In this exercise, attacks with the bayonet were made by first “charging” the weapon—that is, withdrawing the rear arm so that “the soldier has the butt-end behind him, and the left elbow advanced toward the middle of the barrel”—and then “pushing” the bayonet forward using the arms alone, and sometimes with a slight lean of the body:"...
Major Anthony Gordon, and the Development of Bayonet Fencing in the British Isles: 1740-1820
outofthiscentury.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/major-anthony-gordon-and-the-development-of-bayonet-fencing-in-the-british-isles-1740-1820/
"As far as is currently known, prior to the 1780s, the British military—like that of most of Europe—did not officially instruct its rank and file troops in a systematic method of self-defense for close-quarters combat with the bayonet (although it is possible that elite units received more advanced instruction, no known extant sources indicate what that may have consisted of). Instead, the bayonet position prescribed in the established exercise did not really guard the soldier at all, but was a direct descendant of the old “firelock” stance which had replaced that of the pike. In this exercise, attacks with the bayonet were made by first “charging” the weapon—that is, withdrawing the rear arm so that “the soldier has the butt-end behind him, and the left elbow advanced toward the middle of the barrel”—and then “pushing” the bayonet forward using the arms alone, and sometimes with a slight lean of the body:"...